Santa Lucia Range - a photo on Flickriver

Santa Lucia Range

            This view is of the Santa Lucia Range (elevation 1,784 metres, or 5,853 ft) of the Pacific Coast Ranges.  In early April, the mountains are still green, but it will not be long before the grasses turn brown and the hills take on that golden color for which the state got its nickname, the Golden State.  These hills are rugged, and hiking can be strenuous if you start from the bottom, particularly in hot weather.  There are, however, several nice trails which go through the Ventana Wilderness that can be reached from near the top.

California had lots of storms in March, resulting in mud slide and road closures on the Cabrillo Highway, California Route 1.  The road south to Big Sur was closed below Carmel, and the road north from Cambria was also closed when we made our last-minute plans to go to Big Sur.  

That left only the Nacimiento Ferguson Road which you reach from US Highway 101, which we wanted to take for years. This route wanders through beautiful areas of the Hunter Liggett Army Base before dropping down to the Pacific Ocean on one of the more hair-raising paved roads I've been on in a long time.  The narrow road has been hit with many mudslides this winter, but since it was the only route open for a week or so, the state has been working to keep it open.  The road is one hairpin turn after another, with no view of oncoming cars.  Some people honk their horns as they go around the bends, others act like rabbits, sticking their noses out to see that it's safe to proceed.  Then there are those drivers who just barrel along at a speed far too high for the conditions and hope everyone else will get out of their way!

All that aside, it is one of the most spectacular roads you could wish for, with great vistas in the valley of the army base, then going down to the Pacific.  We will take it again, even when the Cabrillo Highway is fully open.

Taken in: United States / California (show map)

Taken on: April 4, 2011

Tags:

California

Big Sur

landscape

nature

Los Padres National Forest

Nacimiento Ferguson Road

mountain

green

blue

sky

trees

shrubs

rock

road

Ventana Wilderness

Santa Lucia Range

Pacific Coast Ranges « less

Sets appears in: • California

Groups appears in: • Absolutely Stunning 'Scapes ***INVITED PHOTOS ONLY***

Camera: Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi, f/4.5, 1/640 sec, 28mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi
Lens:	EF28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
Aperture:	f/4.5
Exposure Time:	0.002 sec (1/640)
Focal Length:	28mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	-1/3 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Unknown (-1)
Software:	Adobe Photoshop CS3 Windows
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